This invention relates to sliders used to traverse bodies of water and, more particularly, to sliders and techniques for the manufacture thereof for control the friction between the slider and the water as they traverse the same.
There is evidence of people sliding over bodies of water for over 5,000 years. The earliest people known to slide over bodies of water are distant relatives of the Sami that used skis to slide over crystalline water ice, commonly referred to as snow. The earliest form of slider is simply described by its name, ski with translates from Old Norse meaning “a stick of wood”.
Slider technology has over the years from that of a pair of substantially planar substrates, commonly referred to as skis, to a single board having much greater width that the skis, referred to as a snowboard. In addition great strides are being undertaken to improve the performance of sliders through use of material science to reduce friction between the slider and the body of water in contact therewith, in this manner, the speed at which the slider travels over the body of water for a given driving force is inversely proportional to the amount of friction present. Friction occurs from a variety of circumstances, such as dry friction. Dry friction results from dry snow particles touching the slider. Capillary suction may cause friction and results from liquid water adheres to the slider, production a vacuum. Contaminant friction may also reduce the speed of the slider. Contaminant friction results from the presence of unwanted material present between the slider and the body of water in contact therewith. Examples of unwanted material include dirt, pollen, rock, dust and the like. Static electricity also generates friction. Static electricity is produced as a slider produced from hydrophobic impregnated polymer TEFLON or UHMW-OE traversing the traverses.
There is a need, therefore, to provide techniques to reduce friction between sliders and bodies of water in contact with the slide.